Ye Tiancheng initially thought it was Hou Mingzhu throwing a little tantrum, expecting her to forget about him, the scumbag, once she got caught up with a new lover. But he didn't expect that night, while he was sleeping in his makeshift shelter, he felt a powerful surge of true qi.
It could be said that the enemies Ye Tiancheng had encountered before were not worth mentioning; many were instantly killed by him. However, this time, the immense power jolted Ye Tiancheng awake from his dream. He felt extremely unwell, with his head splitting as if it were about to explode.
"Who are you?"
The powerful force did not respond to Ye Tiancheng. He quickly searched his memories from the dream and suddenly realized who this familiar figure was, causing his heart to pound.
"Is that you? Bai Wuxie?"
"How did you know it was me?"
Bai Wuxie, suspended above the roof, had been in a state of invisibility. Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng guess his identity, he was so shocked that he immediately revealed himself. After all, even the most powerful experts could not guess who someone was without any prior knowledge. This was truly bizarre.
"It seems what is meant to come will come. Even though I've tried my best to escape, I still have to face you eventually. Long time no see, my old friend."
This person had previously suffered a crushing defeat at his hands. If Bai Wuxie hadn't appeared, Ye Tiancheng would have forgotten about him. Even now, his appearance was useless; defeat was still inevitable.
"Don't try to get chummy with me. If I wanted to attack you, a couple of nice words wouldn't solve anything."
Bai Wuxie thought Ye Tiancheng was scared. After all, most cultivators, upon sensing his immense true qi, would tremble uncontrollably and beg for mercy. No one dared to confront him directly.
Ye Tiancheng was too lazy to make a move to persuade Bai Wuxie. However, this person, thinking himself powerful, might be afraid if Ye Tiancheng didn't act.
With a thunderous roar from the sky, if one didn't know what was happening, they would think it was thunder. This was the consequence of Ye Tiancheng channeling his true qi. A pure stream of true qi struck Bai Wuxie mercilessly.
A wisp of smoke rose from Bai Wuxie's body, and he fell straight down from the roof. Ye Tiancheng could even smell the scent of burning.
"I didn't go too hard on you. I hoped you would return on your own, without me needing to find someone to carry a stretcher for you."
After Ye Tiancheng finished speaking dominantly, he decided to go back to sleep. He hadn't slept well earlier, all thanks to the annoying Bai Wuxie. He remembered their last encounter was at Mr. Hou's birthday banquet. Now that he hadn't sought Bai Wuxie out, the latter insisted on coming to court death.
"Who exactly are you? Why do you possess such powerful true qi? Ye Tiancheng, have you been cultivating some evil arts?"
The man was incredibly astonished. Although he had heard that Ye Tiancheng's strength was considerable, he hadn't sensed anything unusual at such close proximity. Bai Wuxie thought he would be easy to deal with, but ended up almost losing his life.
"I don't mind telling you, because I don't even consider you a threat. I possess two great divine artifacts, so dealing with you is effortless."
Bai Wuxie was unconvinced. Gritting his teeth fiercely, he suddenly sat up. Bai Wuxie's index and middle fingers were pressed tightly together. At the same time, he closed his eyes, crossed his legs, and chanted incantations.
"What? Why is there a snake on you?"
The snake Bai Wuxie saw was an illusion conjured by the Mountain God, that is, the great green snake. It had now become Ye Tiancheng's right-hand man, and anyone with some power could recognize it.
"If you dare to spread this around, Bai Wuxie, I won't hesitate to exterminate your entire clan."
Ye Tiancheng knew which sect he belonged to. This Black Gate had recently gained considerable notoriety. However, if Bai Wuxie continued to provoke him, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't mind becoming an enemy of their entire sect.
"How do you know which sect I belong to?"
The Black Gate, as a newly risen, small, mysterious organization, was known to everyone. Although people knew which sect they belonged to, these individuals were elusive, leaving no trace. No one knew the sect's address, let alone what kind of members it comprised.
"The Black Gate has produced someone like you, making you a pillar of the sect. I hope you will conduct yourself properly and not bring shame upon your sect."
The moment Ye Tiancheng revealed his sect, Bai Wuxie was utterly stunned. He thought his actions were very discreet and that no one would discover his sect affiliation. If his mission failed, and the sect members found out, his prestige would be greatly diminished. What Ye Tiancheng said about him being a pillar was true; Bai Wuxie was not only a pillar but also the soul of the Black Gate.
If this mission were to fail, and the sect members learned that Ye Tiancheng had humiliated him, the consequence would be the eventual decline of the Black Gate.
"Lord Ye, please spare me! I know with your power, even a slight movement of your finger would break all the bones in my body. Thank you for sparing my life, and I hope you will keep today's events confidential."
This assassin, who had been so cold moments ago, suddenly became so pathetic. The contrast between before and after was truly astonishing.
However, this was a world where the strong survived. For a defeated opponent like this, if he didn't beg for mercy, he would not only lose face but might even lose his life. More seriously, he could potentially implicate his entire sect. For such a person, begging for mercy was a sign of pragmatism, while stubbornness was a death warrant.
"As long as you promise not to harass me again, I can spare your life and keep your weakness a secret. But this is the last time. If I find out you have any intention of attacking me again, I might not be so polite. Do you understand?"
Ye Tiancheng generally lacked patience, and he also believed in not repeating himself. Saying too much made people think you were nagging and would disregard your words like barking dogs.
"I understand, Master Ye. Could you teach me a couple of moves? With Master Ye's strength, you can probably make mountains and seas tremble with a mere flick of your finger. I wish to progress alongside someone like you."
"I only have one disciple named Xue'er, and I have no plans to take on any more disciples for now. I have already spared you, and you should be grateful instead of continuing to trouble me. This is called biting the hand that feeds you."
"I understand, Master Ye. I'll leave now."
As Bai Wuxie was about to leave, the Mountain God, the great green snake, who had been silent all along within Ye Tiancheng's divine sense, suddenly spoke.
"I truly regret following you. I thought you were a ruthless person, but you show mercy to an assassin? Your kindness to the rich will eventually be your downfall."
"I have become powerful now. As a powerful person, one should have compassion and respect life, whether they are good or bad. Everyone makes mistakes and should be given an equal chance to repent. In life, who is without fault? We are all just ordinary people, just that I am slightly stronger than the average ordinary person. But I haven't achieved immortality, and ultimately, I cannot escape reincarnation and fate."
Another voice suddenly chimed in, "You great green snake, you talk too much. Don't you know how much Ye Tiancheng has contributed to Dahe Village? Without him, the villagers would still be living in dire straits. Now they have built new houses, bought good cars, and are all reaching the pinnacle of their lives. Aren't these all Ye Tiancheng's achievements? You can't just negate everything he's done with a single sentence. Sometimes, becoming strong isn't just about constant killing; people need to learn to make choices and have emotional intelligence."
The great green snake and the divine stone were both considered equally noble and rare. However, these two seemed to get along poorly, always looking down on each other. They usually kept their displeasure to themselves, but today, they couldn't hold back and started arguing directly, causing Ye Tiancheng's ears to ache.
"Alright, stop arguing. I want to sleep. If you want to argue, find another place to do it. Don't argue in my divine sense space. I won't mediate for you, so give up on that idea."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, the two ancient beings, who had lived for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, finally quieted down and stopped arguing, though they still couldn't stand each other.
After Ye Tiancheng slept, he woke up to a call from Hou Mingzhu.
"The person from yesterday was sent by me. I paid him a million to go after you. Since you're still alive, I saved myself a million. But I really didn't expect you to be so formidable, Ye Tiancheng, to survive being hunted by such an expert. It seems I underestimated you."
Ye Tiancheng was still a bit groggy. He stretched with a helpless expression.
"Sister, why are you like this? It's one thing to deal with me, but you even called specifically to tell me. Are you bullying me because I'm honest and don't know how to resist? I already said I want to sever ties with you, so why are you still sending people to kill me? How many times has this happened? Don't force me to take action against your Hou family."
Ye Tiancheng wasn't afraid at the moment; he was just very annoyed. If Hou Mingzhu continued to pester him like this, he didn't know when it would end. Ye Tiancheng also wanted to live a normal life, at least without having to deal with these flies every day. Although those experts couldn't take Ye Tiancheng's life, the constant buzzing in his ears was quite bothersome.
"I, Hou Mingzhu, am born with noble destiny. What I want, I must have. Since you won't let me have you, I will destroy you, and other women won't have you either. Especially that Su Muxian. Of course, if other women are also interested in you besides Su Muxian, I don't care. Anyway, I will destroy you unless you are with me."
Ye Tiancheng didn't know what sin he committed in his past life to be so entangled with a woman like Hou Mingzhu. He didn't like her, but she insisted on clinging to him, and if he didn't get together with her, she would kill him.
"Then when do you plan to let me go?"
"Unless you have someone you truly love. You don't have anyone you love now, so I still have a chance."
"Are you out of your mind? Do you think I dare to find a girlfriend? If I find a girlfriend, you'll target my girlfriend. Wouldn't that mean I'm harming that girl?"
Ye Tiancheng's reasoning was sound. Hou Mingzhu had indeed burned his most beloved woman to death before, but Ye Tiancheng didn't know the truth yet.
"If you really have a girlfriend, then Su Muxian will have no chance either. As I said, if I can't have you, Su Muxian won't either. I can temporarily let other women have you, but I won't let Su Muxian succeed."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't fathom this woman's thought process. After angrily hanging up the phone, he pondered for a moment. It wasn't the right time to become enemies with the Hou family.
Ye Tiancheng quickly called Xiao Pang and asked him to introduce him to a girlfriend. Xiao Pang immediately discussed it with his wife, Wang Xiaomiao. After much deliberation, they finally came up with a suitable candidate.